being bullied "coz they can"

phillstarr

last week i was going to do some Christmas shopping and just thought i would check my balance online so i would not go overdrawn.
i was shocked (can't put what i really felt) to find out barclaycard had taken the whole of my employment support allowance out. when i contacted them they said they had the rite to do so because a, Barclay's was their sister company and they were officially allowed to do that and b, they did it because i was in credit.
yes i was "in credit" my ESA had been paid in to the account the day before.
not only did they leave me with NO money to live on for a fortnight and so left me with no option other than to borrow from family and friends but because a direct debit went out on the same day they made me go overdrawn which Barclay's are now charging me for.
i am at a total loss as to what i can do now.
surely they cannot just take money out of my account like that to the extent that THEY make me overdrawn and with no money to live on. they have caused me financial hardship to say the least.
oh i forgot to mention that half of the money they took out was for my partner also because we claim as a couple.

lisyloo

Yes they can do it.
Sorry.

You need to get a bank account that's seperate from your credit card.
Be careful as this may well work across the groups e.g. RBS & Nat West, HBOS & LLoyds, HSBC & First Direct.

Did you keep your side of the bargain with Barclaycard?
The reason I'm asking is that they normally only do this when people are in arrears and haven't keep to their side of the contract.

Why do you think a bank cares if you can't eat and they've taken your partners money?
Sorry if that sounds harsh, but I don't think they do, they just care about getting their money.

Personally I won't deal with Barclays again unless thay have something compelling onn offer.

Dylanwing

I may be wrong, but I thought that Banks could not take benefit payments like that.
Had a quick search but can't find anything. Best bet is to contact the National Debtline or Citizens Advice, they should be able to confirm if this is the case. I had thought that as benefit payments are for basic subsistence, they could not just take them, but I may be wrong. The laws seem to allow Banks to act like total *ankers. Perhaps the taxpayer could just take their ill-gotten profits to offset our debts!

jonesMUFCforever

Yes they can but a customer can ask for the right of appropriation if a known credit is coming - this would be done by a specialist department such as collections - but it would have to be done in advance not after.
Most banks will let you do this once only - if you ask again they will refuse and close your account.
Banks might be total *ankers but it does not explain why OP spent money on his Barclaycard and thought it ok not to keep up with repayments and even was planning on more Christmas shopping in preference to paying his debts.

Dylanwing

Nice to see Christmas compassion! So OP has no money for food etc. for two weeks and will get hit by a hefty overdraft charge, whilst the Banks fatten their profits.
Merry Christmas!

opinions4u

Dylanwing wrote: »

Nice to see Christmas compassion! So OP has no money for food etc. for two weeks and will get hit by a hefty overdraft charge, whilst the Banks fatten their profits.
Merry Christmas!

It sounds to me like this specific customer is high risk and more likely to cause the bank losses.

The original post doesn't spell out the full circumstances around this situation. All we know is that the OP didn't pay a bill on time so the bank took a payment to cover this in accordance with the credit agreement signed. Which they are entitled to do whether Santa has taken to the skies or not.

phillstarr wrote: »

last week i was going to do some Christmas shopping and just thought i would check my balance online so i would not go overdrawn.
i was shocked (can't put what i really felt) to find out barclaycard had taken the whole of my employment support allowance out. when i contacted them they said they had the rite to do so because a, Barclay's was their sister company and they were officially allowed to do that and b, they did it because i was in credit.
yes i was "in credit" my ESA had been paid in to the account the day before.

They can do it and probably couldn't tell and don't care where the credit to the account came from.

not only did they leave me with NO money to live on for a fortnight and so left me with no option other than to borrow from family and friends but because a direct debit went out on the same day they made me go overdrawn which Barclay's are now charging me for.

I think you should ask for that fee to be reimbursed.

i am at a total loss as to what i can do now.
surely they cannot just take money out of my account like that to the extent that THEY make me overdrawn and with no money to live on. they have caused me financial hardship to say the least.

Look, while you may be angry and annoyed they took money that you owed them. The "financial hardship" you claim is a result of your spending money on a credit card and not repaying the funds when due.

oh i forgot to mention that half of the money they took out was for my partner also because we claim as a couple.

If it's in a joint account it's still fair game for them.

Mikeyorks

Curious the OP has to ask the question ........ as nothing appears to have changed in just under 3 years :-

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=4406108&postcount=1

........... so is clearly aware that set-off exists .... and can happen if he keeps credits alongside debits.

ThrowingStonesAtYou

Never happened to me personally, but I hear about this quite a lot, it's part of the agreement you signed up to.

As another poster said, you might be better off for now opening a credit card with a separate company, and transferring over to that, so that barclays have no cause to take your money.

However longer term please taken this as a wake up call that you must stick to credit agreements you take out, you need to get yourself out of debt and if you can't even make your minimum payments you should not be spending what little money you have on unneccessary things, like xmas gifts. May not be a popular opinion these days but so many economic and personal problems at the moment are caused by debt, you would be much happier without any.

jonesMUFCforever

Dylanwing wrote: »

Nice to see Christmas compassion! So OP has no money for food etc. for two weeks and will get hit by a hefty overdraft charge, whilst the Banks fatten their profits.
Merry Christmas!

You lend your money to him then ...............just as long as you don't expect it back!!!

Dylanwing

If it's in a joint account it's still fair game for them.

Totally false. I can assure you that monies held in a joint account cannot be taken to cover a debt in a sole name. I know that one from personal experience.
OP - Ignore the smug judgemental people on here. I have been in a bad financial way in the past, and soon learnt that Banks will lie and ignore rules/ codes in the hope of not being caught. They might be right, but I would get it checked out by independent experts, as there are loopholes and codes of conduct. Most importantly, you have nothing to lose, just a few minutes of your time.

wannabe_sybil

I am not an expert on credit cards and I may be wrong, but I thought a bank/creditor couldn't take benefits? Is that just for loans?

OP - hope all gets sorted out.